Tree of Penance (3)
Although Seongjin had somehow convinced the group to move, he couldn’t hide his inner embarrassment as he walked along.
Even upon reflection, his persuasion hadn’t been particularly smooth, and his claim that he wouldn’t do anything dangerous was a lie that would soon be exposed.
After all, the reason he decided to follow the Wolf Knights was because he judged that it was most efficient for someone like himself, who remained unaffected by demonic energy, to take the lead.
It seemed the Mawang (Demon King) felt the same way, as he kept giving Seongjin various scoldings throughout their journey.
[Who said you don’t rely on him? Just earlier, when your subordinate collapsed, you freaked out and called for your father right away.]
Oh, right. That did happen.
‘…But back then, I really thought I’d killed Sir Carmen!’
Scratching his cheek, Seongjin recalled the strange sensation he had felt earlier. Oddly enough, at that moment, he had a strong premonition that Sir Carmen was about to die.
He thought he had carefully controlled the impact, but when Sir Carmen suddenly rolled his eyes and collapsed from such a minor hit, it was quite unsettling.
‘Still, the fact that I’m doing what I can on my own doesn’t change.’
Seongjin habitually stroked the distinctive metal groove engraved on his Nutcracker.
He couldn’t save someone on the brink of death like the Holy King.
But at the very least, Seongjin was confident he could fight the enemy before him until one of them fell. Just accomplishing that on his own might lighten his father’s burden a bit.
Besides, the old man said he’s entering the [Gap], right? Even if he comes out, he’ll probably be severely nauseated, so he should rest and not worry about things here.
At that, the Mawang let out a deep sigh as if the ground would cave in.
[Seriously. With that attitude every time, isn’t it natural for your father to worry even more? What’s all this about fighting until death?]
‘Ah, shut up!’
Soon, Seongjin’s party arrived at their destination.
They didn’t have to search far. A colossal tree, appearing at least 15 meters tall even by conservative estimates, had already overgrown the campsite, its thick roots sprawling in all directions.
“Kiaaaah!”
“Kaaaargh!”
The eerie screams they thought they heard were actually the fierce friction of the living, writhing branches rubbing violently against each other, creating a cacophony.
Most striking of all was the intense demonic energy.
The black magi (demonic energy) emitted by the tree was so dense that even under the dark night sky, the jet-black haze was distinctly visible.
“Where are all the people from the caravan…?”
The group initially searched for survivors, but they soon recoiled in horror upon realizing that the things hanging abundantly from the tree were not fruits but shriveled corpses.
“Ugh!”
Several young knights couldn’t help but retch.
It was understandable. The grotesque sight was so overwhelming that even the seasoned Sir Ilma, who was well-versed in monster subjugation, felt momentarily daunted.
Ironically, the youngest among them, Prince Mores, was the one maintaining the most composed demeanor.
‘How can someone who grew up so sheltered in the royal palace remain so calm?’
Even Sir Massain looked pale.
Watching the unwavering gray eyes devoid of any agitation, Sir Ilma couldn’t help but be impressed.
‘Indeed, as a leader, he’s trying hard not to show any loss of composure. He’s so different from the rumors!’
Of course, contrary to her misunderstanding, Seongjin was actually preoccupied with searching for Dasha among the corpses.
‘…At least she’s not among these.’
After quickly scanning around the tree, Seongjin was relieved not to find a corpse that seemed to be Dasha.
And.
‘There’s another survivor.’
It seemed the others hadn’t noticed, being too distracted by the bizarre tree. But over there, on the hill, an ordinary person with no aura training was hiding and watching them.
Enhancing his vision with aura, Seongjin confirmed his appearance.
‘Giacomo Milo.’
So he survived alone. In this situation, he didn’t even summon the demon he had contracted with.
Should I call him cautious or cowardly?
To understand the circumstances of this incident, that guy needed to be caught and interrogated, but first, the rapidly growing tree before them had to be dealt with.
“Does anyone know anything about that demon species?”
At Seongjin’s question, everyone turned their gaze to Sir Sharon and Sir Valery.
“To be honest, I’ve never seen anything like that even in the ‘Otherworldly Apocalypse.’ It looks like a plant, and I’m not even sure if it’s really a demon species,” Sir Valery answered with a perplexed expression.
“Of course, the ominous energy it exudes is undoubtedly magi.”
At that moment, Sir Sharon began to mumble, staring blankly into space.
“…A tree of the Demon Realm… A weapon hidden by the remnants of Penance… The essence of asceticism…”
Rather than explaining the tree, she seemed more like someone who had lost her mind due to the horrific sight.
As the group watched her with concern, Captain Bruno discreetly mouthed to Seongjin.
“She’s channeling with Aranja.”
Ah, she’s requesting data from the server.
After a moment, Sir Sharon regained focus in her eyes and began to speak.
“…Phew. Since ancient times, there have been two recorded sightings of that tree. Among them, there’s only one instance with an actual subjugation record.”
In her characteristic thin voice, Sir Sharon quickly poured out her explanation.
The tree’s official name is [Magaesu (Tree of the Demon Realm)].
However, since both instances where the tree was released into Delcross were acts committed by the Church of Penance, it’s also recorded under the name [Chamhoemok (Tree of Penance)].
According to the classification by the Orthodox Church, it’s technically categorized as a Type 4 miscellaneous demon species, but combat protocols are equivalent to those for a Type 1 demon species. That’s because, despite its slow movement, it exhibits behaviors similar to Type 1.
“At that time, His Majesty the 5th Holy King, along with 18 Holy Knights, 20 Royal Guard Knights, and 16 Battle Priests, engaged it using the Granius Type-1 Defensive Formation. It reacts sensitively even to weak holy power, so as long as we’re properly blessed, regular knights can…”
It was then.
The tree, which had only been writhing in place, suddenly began to move toward Seongjin’s group.
They had kept a considerable distance, but the tree, which had steadily grown in size, had now reached a distance where it could detect them.
“Screeeeeech!”
Watching the thick branch hurtling toward them from the front, Seongjin placed his hand on the Nutcracker. He intended to wait until it reached him and then cut it down in one swift move.
But before he could, with a swish!
A golden sword drawn from beside him unleashed a long trail of moonlight as it swung widely. It was Sir Massain.
‘…An aura explosion?’
That faint crescent moon sliced through the incoming branches mercilessly, reaching all the way to the trunk of the tree.
And then.
Boom!
With a strong explosion, it violently shook the entire body of the tree. A fierce wind swept through the campsite area.
Whooooosh—
The impact was so strong that some of the hanging corpses fell helplessly to the ground, shattering with a brittle sound.
The tree momentarily stopped moving as if electrocuted, emitting an unpleasant grinding noise.
“…!”
Everyone stared wide-eyed at him, and after seizing the initiative with a powerful preemptive strike, Sir Massain looked resolute, as if he had made up his mind.
“…Shall we capture it as is, Your Highness?”
“…”
Seongjin blinked.
This hyung (older brother), perhaps realizing he couldn’t restrain Seongjin, must have decided to take the lead himself.
Thinking that it was just like him, Seongjin nodded.
“Yes, Sir Massain.”
Comparing it to the previous records that Sir Sharon had mentioned, their current forces seemed woefully insufficient.
Seongjin and Massain. Including Orden, there were 15 members of the Wolf Knights, Captain Bruno and three resident knights, and two Holy Knights from the Monster Response Team.
But even so.
‘…Somehow, I feel like we can do it.’
Feeling a strong premonition, Seongjin looked around at the group.
Back on Earth, during the early days of the Gate incidents, there were many situations where they faced monsters they had never seen before. And each time, Seongjin’s intuition was always accurate.
When he felt they should retreat, they suffered near-annihilating losses, and when he thought they could manage somehow, many survived despite the struggle.
And in the case of this creature…
‘Maybe we can do it without significant losses…!’
Perhaps his confidence transmitted to the others.
After watching him briefly, Orden turned his head and instructed Sir Ilma.
“Captain. We can’t deploy a holy formation with our current forces. But the lack of other records might mean there are various alternative strategies.”
“Yes, Grand Duke. We’ll probe it while attacking and retreating.”
Sir Ilma, who answered that way, shouted to the Wolf Knights.
“Spread out and surround it! Think of when we fought the Glacier Troll! This demon is huge, but it’s definitely not faster than that damned ice monster!”
As familiar orders were given, the anxiety quickly vanished.
Moreover, having been highly stimulated by Massain’s aura explosion, the knights’ eyes gleamed with a slight excitement.
“Sir Inquisitor, that’s a harsh way to put it.”
“…Pardon? What’s harsh?”
“Who’s being called a coward here?”
“Yeah, really?”
“If you’re so scared you can’t move a step without a blessing, are you calling us cowards? Isn’t this a challenge to the Wolf Knights?”
“…No?”
While dodging and cutting down the branches that were starting to wriggle after recovering from the shock, the knights even had the leisure to engage in trivial banter.
Even among them, Sir Ilma stood out the most.
Unlike the knights who kept their distance to avoid touching the magi and cautiously cut down branches from afar, she fearlessly rushed close to the tree trunk, creating a wide sword barrier that covered half her body.
Of course, it wasn’t that she didn’t trim the incoming branches as she advanced.
And.
Whish!
Effortlessly riding atop a massive root that came hurtling toward her, she used the momentum to slash deeply into the center of the tree trunk.
Thud!
A deep wound opened, and soon, swoosh, black magi poured out like blood.
Quickly retreating from the explosive outpouring of magi, Sir Ilma kicked a knight who had lost his balance on the violently shaking ground, sending him flying away. At the same time, she sliced through the branch chasing after him.
“Wow.”
Swinging his Nutcracker, Seongjin was impressed.
‘Ilma noona (older sister). She’s somehow mastered fighting while taking care of junior knights.’
Orden Zigsmunt’s performance was also noteworthy.
An elegant sword movement that bent at strange angles and extended forward. Seongjin recognized it immediately.
A variation of the Banahas Third Form that Sisley admired and tried to emulate. And its power was just as the little girl had said.
Boom!
A thick tree root as big as a pillar in the Bastien Church exploded all at once, scattering hundreds and thousands of wood fragments.
Suddenly, Seongjin thought that he would like to see the Wolf Knights fighting the Glacier Troll firsthand someday.
“You shouldn’t be distracted, Your Highness! The magi is intensifying.”
Swoosh!
Massain, who had instantly cut down two incoming branches, warned.
As he said, cutting down the tree wasn’t the end. The tree, now wounded in various places, was writhing even more violently, emitting denser magi.
Screeeeech!
Meanwhile, new branches sprouted from below, reinforcing the wounds even more solidly, emitting unpleasant grinding noises.
‘…At this rate, there’s no end.’
Stepping back a pace alongside Massain, Seongjin thought.
The tree seemed to have halted its rapid expansion for now, but it was still growing slowly, adding new branches.
Meanwhile, the knights’ movements were becoming increasingly restricted. The more they cut the tree, the more the air became polluted with the magi that flowed out.
‘Moreover, we’ll only get more exhausted as time goes on. Unless we think of another method before then…’
At that moment, the Mawang called out to Seongjin.
[Lee Seongjin.]
‘Huh?’
[To eliminate the endlessly regenerating Magaesu, you need to completely separate its source, the growth core. I heard that somewhere before.]
…What?
Seongjin dodged a branch descending from above and asked.
‘Is that similar to the core of a monster?’
[Well, functionally, it might be similar.]
Boom! A branch narrowly missed Seongjin, gouging deep into the dirt before retracting back to the trunk.
Getting up and running backward, Seongjin questioned.
‘But why are you telling me this important thing only now?’
[I wasn’t sure because it’s just a story I heard vaguely! I’ve never actually seen a Magaesu!]
The Mawang protested as if feeling wronged.
[So, I carefully observed the entire tree until now to see if I could spot the growth core.]
So, you’re telling me now because…
‘You found that core thing?’
[Yes, probably. There’s a spot inside the tree where the magi is swirling intensely and shining brightly.]
‘So where is it?’
Then the Mawang hesitated for a moment before answering.
[At the very top of the Magaesu…]
‘Uh…’
Seongjin momentarily looked blankly up at the towering Magaesu, now easily over 20 meters tall.
How on earth am I supposed to get up there?
‘…Are you sure?’
[I can’t be certain. But since there’s nothing special elsewhere, it’s probably there.]
Ugh.
Seongjin groaned low but had no time to hesitate further. Even as they spoke, the tree was growing taller by the second!
‘Let’s just try something!’
Swish—
Just then, a thick branch like a log came flying straight at him, and Seongjin focused his mind, gathering aura in his legs.
And before Sir Massain could cut it down.
Bang!
He kicked off the ground, leaping as high as possible toward the upper part of the branch.
“…Your Highness!”
Leaving behind Massain’s shocked shout.
Tap tap tap!
Seongjin began to run boldly along the branch, from which black magic was billowing.